Lamborghini Orange Closes

quote:

Originally posted by Joules5:
News is Lamborghini Orange County has shut and locked it's doors. They accounted for 10% of the World's Lamborghini's annual sales, but a Lamborghini USA spokesperson said the closure the owners own mistakes.

They will be remembered in my mind most for the Lambo Babes at Monterey, sure will miss those cuties.

They are a couple blocks from my work, I enjoyed going over for lunch and drooling over the women, and yes Lambos too.

I just comepleted a brand new Ferrari / Mazeratti Dealership in Spring Valley New York ... they say that the Rich People bought Dusenburgs during the Depression ... but I think your going to see a lot more of that .. its time to take the suit an tie off an put on the jeans and tee shirt .. we havent hit bottom yet. Boy I;m going to miss those Red Leather Pants and tank tops !! LOL

Ron

What an ignorant comment from a company rep. As a former auto manufacturer mid-level Manager I can tell you 99% of ANY auto manufacturer employees couldn't even afford a Lambo. Never mind the dealership. The few former manufacturer employees that buy delaerships are out of the business in a very short time. Soooo again what an ignorant comment! He should shut up next time dummy.

I read somewhere yesterday that Auto Nation(largest auto dealer netwrok) Lost $1.4 Billion this past quarter.
Also while I was at work yesterday GM streamed the quarterly earnings report into our plant. COO Fritz explained the credit crunch is effecting all corporations. AAA rated companies are having a rough go at getting credit, everyone else is completly shut off.
Lets see what happens.
Jeff

To clarify .. I completed the Mechanical Systems and the comment was made by the owner to me when I asked ..isnt this a rought time to be opening a dealership? and so his comment followed ..

Ron

I find it strange that after making profit for about 100 consecutive years, a bad month puts these giants on the brink.

And us consumer idiots - who pay the automakers, their dealers, their parts depts and their finance companies - now have to use our taxes to bail them out instead of fixing our roads, hiring teachers, building hospitals or all the other things taxes are supposed to fund.

Is it just me, or what?

" Is it just me, or what? "

No its not you ... we are bailing out the wallstreet boys who have had a BIG PARTY for a long time ... only most over indulged ... add their houses and cars to the foreclosure market.

As for the comment " Rich People bought Dusenburgs during the Depression" thats REAL MONEY not NEW wallstreet smart asses. The REAL MONEY made their fortune in BUSINESSES and REALSTATE.

And no smart ass comment like " Rich People bought Dusenburgs during the Depression." is going to phase a automaker who has targeted a market.

My opinion.

Yes, but just remember one thing, pre-depression companies were actively operated by their owners, not COEs and Chair-persons who were figuring ways to make it look like there are profits so they get a bigger month end bonus. The owners were operating the companies and they were financed mainly by private investors, not 'Joe the plummer's 401Ks. AutoNation is(was) probaly heavily financed by the stock market and operated by people thinking about next Thursday's paycheck not next August's mortgage payment. The bizare thing is that when a Company goes on the stock market, fewer questions get asked about the financial statement, whereas if it was the bank, they would want to check everything.....high risk houses of cards built short term. When the wealth of a Company is measured on the stock market intead of bricks and mortar makes for a weak business. Too many layers between the floor and Management. Still I am not worried by Companies like Lambo of Orange, just like Donald Trump the owners (and operators) will resurface in a non-distant future.

My understanding is that this was a case of mis-management more than a direct product of the economy. It was a poorly run dealership, and it caught up with them.

That opinion comes from someone at Lamborghini here in Vegas.

R.

You have to be careful of the rumor mill. 'mis-management' is very vague. Manufacturers do not like to close sales point, especially if as stated this one was a very high percentage of the national sales. Companies usualy close Dealerships for 2 reasons Fraudulent behaviours or network realignment; of course profitability is essential. The Bank on the other hand wan't profitability. if sales are very good Companies will usualy help find a new operator. Unfortunately when an owner is not the operator the focus may move to volume to satisfy the manufacturer and profitability takes the wayside. I was once involved with the largest medium heavy truck dealership in NorthAmerica (partialy owned by the company but operated by a potenial future buyer/owner) the payplans were not profit based but volume based. Every month more trucks were sold more parts were sold and more labour was sold.(Service was always running a loss) The 'Owner' and the Managers were making 6 figures and the Company was making sales but the store was eating away to profits. When money ran out a new numbered company would buy to store and the process would start all over again. Anyways market studies were made and this store was closed, sales were absorbed by surounding dealerships. Remember these are not BigMacs at $1.50 but Lambos at +$1.50...K. You know the difference between a 15,000 car and a 150,000 car. The 15,000 car is often an essential and there are 14 different manufactures to compete for the sale. The 150,000 car is a frivolous item and is a decision between a piece of jewelery, art or a property. The potenial owner my go a long distance to acquire (just like we do for our cats)
Back to this thread, not having all the facts (just like George stated in another thread) we shouldn't feed the rumour mill and wish the best to all employees of the dealership. The best of them will find new employment.
Denis

quote:

Originally posted by Denis C:
...not having all the facts (just like George stated in another thread) we shouldn't feed the rumour mill and wish the best to all employees of the dealership. The best of them will find new employment.

You are correct. Thanks for the advice, my friend. :-)

R.